X-Men is a trademarked product from Marvel, all the characters are owned by Marvel and not me. This is a work of fiction based off of said comic series. I make no money off this, yadda yadda yah.
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)
Chapter 6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crimescene was still fresh. Stains of blood not yet cleaned off the floorboards and sheets of the modest cabin in the mountains outside of Las Vegas proper.
"Terrible." Vocalized Kitty as she took a picture.
Wisdom kneeled down, taking a sample of the bloodstained cloth and putting it in a small bag. "Looks burned." He commented to her.
"Everything does. Either there's scorchmarks or blood. Sometimes both. I'd almost claim arson if I didn't know better." She snapped another picture.
"Knowin' better doesn't make it right." Pete continued to gather small, unnoticable samples.
"Isn't this called tampering with the crimescene?"
"It isn't tampering when we're working with the law."
"Are we?" Kitty wondered, glancing at Pete.
"Of course we are." He gave her a strange look back. "What, you think I go around fussing with other peoples business for fun?"
"No..." Her voice trailed off, "Just usually you're more of an... above the law sort of guy. No offense."
"Now Pryde, tell me how you REALLY feel?" Pete grumbled.
"Come ON. You used to be a spy. You killed people and did rather unscrupulous things for a living. Judge, jury, and executioner in one, courtesy of Her Majesty's blessing."
"Black Air may have been part of my past, but it doesn't reflect fully on the whole person that I am." He snapped bitterly.
"I wasn't saying that, Pete. I know more than anyone about that..." Kitty frowned, "And you know that I don't think badly about you because of your previous associations. What I meant was that this would seem easier solved in a more familiar, covert like way instead of working with the authorities outright."
"We are. They do know about us. We're just hidin' in plain sight." Pete said. "Don't worry too much about it."
"I won't." Kitty paused. She snapped another picture before reaching over and touching Pete on the shoulder. "Hey. I'm trying..." She stopped. "Nevermind."
"Tryin' what?" He looked at her.
"To look at the situation objectively." Kitty glanced back at the ground, changing the subject. "So you think she's apart of this?"
"The clues point to yes. It might 'ave been accidental. Not premeditated. We can hope." Pete looked at the evidence in hand.
Kitty took one last picture then shook her head, "I don't think we can get more from this. Let's go." She headed for the door, stepping out into the mountain air. "Aaaaaaaah, cool weather."
"Missin' Chicago already?" Pete wondered, stepping out behind her and putting what he had gathered in a shoulder messenger bag.
"Not so much miss it as I'm not used to this climate. At least up here near the mountain it's a little cooler. You can still see snow on the top." Kitty looked up, then back to Pete. "But on the other hand, it's a nice change of pace." She smiled.
Pete chuckled. "Right. Now we've got to get back to the valley to check out two other locations."
"So soon?" She headed to the car, "But it's so nice up here."
"Maybe another time. We've only got a little more daylight left. The nightlife doesn't leave much for photography." Pete got into the passenger side.
"I suppose." Kitty put her equipment in the trunk. She opened her door and sat down, placing the keys in the ignition and cranking the car. "When do I get to start playing undercover?"
"As soon as tomorrow, if you like."
"The sooner the better, right?" Kitty pulled out of the parking space and started to drive back toward the city.
"Right. Now we're headin' to a lovely place called Summerlin..."
---
The second location was far more devistated. A single, abandoned school bus - charred thoroughly. The smell of death still in the air as the two approached the scene.
"Oh, God." Kitty muttered, pulling on her bag and restrapping her camera. "This one is far worse."
"No kidding." Pete pulled his sunglasses off, tossing them onto his car seat as he approached the bus. "I don't think they had a chance to get out in time."
Kitty swallowed hard. Things didn't make her squeamish, but there's only so much she could look at clinically before it all started get to her. "Fire again." She then noticed, "But this one seems chemical based... there's a strange scent about it."
"Now that's my girl. What else?" Pete smirked.
She glanced at Pete oddly before taking pictures. "This place wasn't just a bus. It was..." Kitty frowned, "People lived here, Pete. Like a home."
"Homeless teens liked to use it as crashspace." Pete started his evidence gathering.
"And it was just... burned down. With people inside." Kitty shuddered.
"Less of a struggle than the other place. Looks like they didn't know what hit 'em." He ran his hand along some deep, ripped up metal along the side of the bus - like scratches. Pete pointed them out to Kitty.
"You really DO take me to the nicest places, you know that?" Kitty took a picture of the marks.
"Don't worry, drinks are on me tonight." Pete stepped over to the car, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "We can't go inside it."
"I don't think I'd want to." She made a face, taking one last picture. "I'm really not cut out for this work."
Pete took a drag on his smoke, "Not many people are. Don't worry, one last place then I'll cut you loose."
"How kind." She repacked her equipment away. "I swear though, if I puke I'm totally blaming it on you."
"My, what attractive imagery." He put out the cigarette, saving half for later. "No, this last one isn't gory. More along the supernatural side o'things."
"Lead the way then." Kitty returned to the drivers seat.
---
Final location of the day. Deep down in a drainage wash on the east side of town. Rocks, sewage water, and very strange markings.
"Even though I know this isn't much my forte... there's really an odd vibe here." Kitty started to examine the markings, taking a picture or two.
"You too? I thought I was the only one." Pete looked around, stepping carefully around the odd collection of rocks. "This feels like it's occultish. Notice how it's all set about in a circle."
"Your guess is as good as mine." Kitty continued to photograph the area.
"Yeh, but I'm payin' you for yours." He suggested.
She rolled her eyes, then looked at it outside of the camera lense. "Okay... I do admit there's a weird... something going on though. Nothing good. It's vaguely familiar. I can't put into words the dark kind of feelings that this stirs up, Pete. Whether it's a darker side of me, or another I was close with... I just know it's not good." Kitty seemed distant as she tried to describe it.
Pete observed Kitty for a long moment, then said. "Enough, Pryde. I don't know about you, but I need a drink."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Good riddance to this place." She shook her head, following Pete back up to the car. "Maybe you should drive."
"Just get us back to the hotel, we'll take a taxi from there." Pete urged.
"Okay, okay..." She resigned, taking her place in the drivers seat. "But if I--"
"You won't." Pete cut her off. "Just drive."
Kitty managed to glare at Pete, starting the car and driving silently to the hotel.
---
The loud music echoed over the sound system as Pete and Kitty sat at a small table. A few empty bottles of beer along with a shot glass lined the edge. The discarded bones of buffalo wings and half-eaten cheese fries near the center.
"Ooooh ooh! I've got this one." Kitty said excitedly.
"Don't bloody keep it from me. Tell me the answer, Pryde!" Pete sounded annoyed.
"No way, I'm in the lead!" Kitty laughed.
"I'm not going to be able to catch up even if I got them all right.." He took another swig of his beer.
Kitty leaned over and pressed the button. "It's number four."
"You always have to make things difficult." Pete nudged her.
"No way!" Kitty jokingly pouted. "You're just not trying."
"Now that's a lie, I always try." Pete noted. He leaned in suggestively.
"Is that so?" Kitty smiled. She was feeling quite a bit better, having eaten dinner and gotten a drink or two in. Wisdom never seemed as imposing or rude after a few hours of exposure. She said quite confidently, "Well, Wisdom, I think you just suck at trivia then."
"I suppose there are worse things to suck at." Pete shrugged his shoulders, turning his trivia console off. He leaned back in the booth, continuing to watch Kitty with a light smirk on his lips.
"I suppose." Kitty answered another question, then pushed Pete playfully.
Pete pointed to the screen. "You won."
"Was there any doubt?" She smiled smugly. "Now I know you're not that much of a slouch. What's with the low scoring?"
"Lack of coordination." He shook his head. "I'm not quick enough for the likes of you. You seem a bit more chipper."
She smiled, taking a fry. "I guess I just needed to get out of there and sit down. A little different than my current daily grind."
"S'not like we did this very much before, eh?"
"No, we didn't. We were always a good team though." Kitty finished off her drink. "What're you looking at?"
"Nothing, nothing! Wot, I have to have a permit to enjoy yer company? Paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't you dare point that thing at me unless you intend to use it." Pete propped an elbow up on the table, tilting himself toward Kitty.
"Ooh, whatcha gonna do about it?" She reached over and tugged at his tie playfully, in a small but defiant gesture.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pete managed an unsure smile. Her grip still wrapped around the cloth as she tugged him closer. Their faces only a few inches apart. He wasn't about to back down from a dare, but he wasn't exactly sure how far this little game should go. He tilted his head as she leaned in.
"-Ring- -Ring- -Ring-" The cell phone ringtone snapped the moment free, Kitty pulled back away from Wisdom and reached into her jacket to retrieve her phone. "Uh... hello? I'm sorry? No, you've got the wrong number. Okay. It's okay. Goodnight." She put it in her jacket, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes shifted back to Pete, a look of apology on her face. "Sorry about that."
Pete finished off his beer. "Let's get our cab. It's getting late and we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Oh... right. Tomorrow." Kitty awkwardly smiled. "Yet another fun filled day of murder and mystery. Never a dull moment." She stood up and stretched.
"Wouldn't 'ave it any other way." Pete threw a few bills on the table for the gratuity and attempted to climb out of the booth behind her. The unsteady step after a few drinks set him offbalance as he stumbled forward.
Kitty turned and caught him as he almost knocked into her. She nudged him and helped him regain his center. "Watch out there, we almost had an awkward situation."
"Almost?" Pete raised an eyebrow.
She may have been a little buzzed, but she caught what that meant. Her expression unsure, "I think we seriously, desperately need sleep."
"Of course. Sleep'll cure anything. Let's go." Pete felt a little put off by her reaction. He straightened out his coat and headed for the door as Kitty following along behind quietly. It didn't take long for the cab to retrieve them and take them back to their hotel for the night. A subtle but nerve wracking silence between them throughout the drive home.
---
To be continued...
"It's My Life" - by Val Shrum (kiyonekatz at yahoo dot com)
Chapter 6
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The crimescene was still fresh. Stains of blood not yet cleaned off the floorboards and sheets of the modest cabin in the mountains outside of Las Vegas proper.
"Terrible." Vocalized Kitty as she took a picture.
Wisdom kneeled down, taking a sample of the bloodstained cloth and putting it in a small bag. "Looks burned." He commented to her.
"Everything does. Either there's scorchmarks or blood. Sometimes both. I'd almost claim arson if I didn't know better." She snapped another picture.
"Knowin' better doesn't make it right." Pete continued to gather small, unnoticable samples.
"Isn't this called tampering with the crimescene?"
"It isn't tampering when we're working with the law."
"Are we?" Kitty wondered, glancing at Pete.
"Of course we are." He gave her a strange look back. "What, you think I go around fussing with other peoples business for fun?"
"No..." Her voice trailed off, "Just usually you're more of an... above the law sort of guy. No offense."
"Now Pryde, tell me how you REALLY feel?" Pete grumbled.
"Come ON. You used to be a spy. You killed people and did rather unscrupulous things for a living. Judge, jury, and executioner in one, courtesy of Her Majesty's blessing."
"Black Air may have been part of my past, but it doesn't reflect fully on the whole person that I am." He snapped bitterly.
"I wasn't saying that, Pete. I know more than anyone about that..." Kitty frowned, "And you know that I don't think badly about you because of your previous associations. What I meant was that this would seem easier solved in a more familiar, covert like way instead of working with the authorities outright."
"We are. They do know about us. We're just hidin' in plain sight." Pete said. "Don't worry too much about it."
"I won't." Kitty paused. She snapped another picture before reaching over and touching Pete on the shoulder. "Hey. I'm trying..." She stopped. "Nevermind."
"Tryin' what?" He looked at her.
"To look at the situation objectively." Kitty glanced back at the ground, changing the subject. "So you think she's apart of this?"
"The clues point to yes. It might 'ave been accidental. Not premeditated. We can hope." Pete looked at the evidence in hand.
Kitty took one last picture then shook her head, "I don't think we can get more from this. Let's go." She headed for the door, stepping out into the mountain air. "Aaaaaaaah, cool weather."
"Missin' Chicago already?" Pete wondered, stepping out behind her and putting what he had gathered in a shoulder messenger bag.
"Not so much miss it as I'm not used to this climate. At least up here near the mountain it's a little cooler. You can still see snow on the top." Kitty looked up, then back to Pete. "But on the other hand, it's a nice change of pace." She smiled.
Pete chuckled. "Right. Now we've got to get back to the valley to check out two other locations."
"So soon?" She headed to the car, "But it's so nice up here."
"Maybe another time. We've only got a little more daylight left. The nightlife doesn't leave much for photography." Pete got into the passenger side.
"I suppose." Kitty put her equipment in the trunk. She opened her door and sat down, placing the keys in the ignition and cranking the car. "When do I get to start playing undercover?"
"As soon as tomorrow, if you like."
"The sooner the better, right?" Kitty pulled out of the parking space and started to drive back toward the city.
"Right. Now we're headin' to a lovely place called Summerlin..."
---
The second location was far more devistated. A single, abandoned school bus - charred thoroughly. The smell of death still in the air as the two approached the scene.
"Oh, God." Kitty muttered, pulling on her bag and restrapping her camera. "This one is far worse."
"No kidding." Pete pulled his sunglasses off, tossing them onto his car seat as he approached the bus. "I don't think they had a chance to get out in time."
Kitty swallowed hard. Things didn't make her squeamish, but there's only so much she could look at clinically before it all started get to her. "Fire again." She then noticed, "But this one seems chemical based... there's a strange scent about it."
"Now that's my girl. What else?" Pete smirked.
She glanced at Pete oddly before taking pictures. "This place wasn't just a bus. It was..." Kitty frowned, "People lived here, Pete. Like a home."
"Homeless teens liked to use it as crashspace." Pete started his evidence gathering.
"And it was just... burned down. With people inside." Kitty shuddered.
"Less of a struggle than the other place. Looks like they didn't know what hit 'em." He ran his hand along some deep, ripped up metal along the side of the bus - like scratches. Pete pointed them out to Kitty.
"You really DO take me to the nicest places, you know that?" Kitty took a picture of the marks.
"Don't worry, drinks are on me tonight." Pete stepped over to the car, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "We can't go inside it."
"I don't think I'd want to." She made a face, taking one last picture. "I'm really not cut out for this work."
Pete took a drag on his smoke, "Not many people are. Don't worry, one last place then I'll cut you loose."
"How kind." She repacked her equipment away. "I swear though, if I puke I'm totally blaming it on you."
"My, what attractive imagery." He put out the cigarette, saving half for later. "No, this last one isn't gory. More along the supernatural side o'things."
"Lead the way then." Kitty returned to the drivers seat.
---
Final location of the day. Deep down in a drainage wash on the east side of town. Rocks, sewage water, and very strange markings.
"Even though I know this isn't much my forte... there's really an odd vibe here." Kitty started to examine the markings, taking a picture or two.
"You too? I thought I was the only one." Pete looked around, stepping carefully around the odd collection of rocks. "This feels like it's occultish. Notice how it's all set about in a circle."
"Your guess is as good as mine." Kitty continued to photograph the area.
"Yeh, but I'm payin' you for yours." He suggested.
She rolled her eyes, then looked at it outside of the camera lense. "Okay... I do admit there's a weird... something going on though. Nothing good. It's vaguely familiar. I can't put into words the dark kind of feelings that this stirs up, Pete. Whether it's a darker side of me, or another I was close with... I just know it's not good." Kitty seemed distant as she tried to describe it.
Pete observed Kitty for a long moment, then said. "Enough, Pryde. I don't know about you, but I need a drink."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Good riddance to this place." She shook her head, following Pete back up to the car. "Maybe you should drive."
"Just get us back to the hotel, we'll take a taxi from there." Pete urged.
"Okay, okay..." She resigned, taking her place in the drivers seat. "But if I--"
"You won't." Pete cut her off. "Just drive."
Kitty managed to glare at Pete, starting the car and driving silently to the hotel.
---
The loud music echoed over the sound system as Pete and Kitty sat at a small table. A few empty bottles of beer along with a shot glass lined the edge. The discarded bones of buffalo wings and half-eaten cheese fries near the center.
"Ooooh ooh! I've got this one." Kitty said excitedly.
"Don't bloody keep it from me. Tell me the answer, Pryde!" Pete sounded annoyed.
"No way, I'm in the lead!" Kitty laughed.
"I'm not going to be able to catch up even if I got them all right.." He took another swig of his beer.
Kitty leaned over and pressed the button. "It's number four."
"You always have to make things difficult." Pete nudged her.
"No way!" Kitty jokingly pouted. "You're just not trying."
"Now that's a lie, I always try." Pete noted. He leaned in suggestively.
"Is that so?" Kitty smiled. She was feeling quite a bit better, having eaten dinner and gotten a drink or two in. Wisdom never seemed as imposing or rude after a few hours of exposure. She said quite confidently, "Well, Wisdom, I think you just suck at trivia then."
"I suppose there are worse things to suck at." Pete shrugged his shoulders, turning his trivia console off. He leaned back in the booth, continuing to watch Kitty with a light smirk on his lips.
"I suppose." Kitty answered another question, then pushed Pete playfully.
Pete pointed to the screen. "You won."
"Was there any doubt?" She smiled smugly. "Now I know you're not that much of a slouch. What's with the low scoring?"
"Lack of coordination." He shook his head. "I'm not quick enough for the likes of you. You seem a bit more chipper."
She smiled, taking a fry. "I guess I just needed to get out of there and sit down. A little different than my current daily grind."
"S'not like we did this very much before, eh?"
"No, we didn't. We were always a good team though." Kitty finished off her drink. "What're you looking at?"
"Nothing, nothing! Wot, I have to have a permit to enjoy yer company? Paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't you dare point that thing at me unless you intend to use it." Pete propped an elbow up on the table, tilting himself toward Kitty.
"Ooh, whatcha gonna do about it?" She reached over and tugged at his tie playfully, in a small but defiant gesture.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pete managed an unsure smile. Her grip still wrapped around the cloth as she tugged him closer. Their faces only a few inches apart. He wasn't about to back down from a dare, but he wasn't exactly sure how far this little game should go. He tilted his head as she leaned in.
"-Ring- -Ring- -Ring-" The cell phone ringtone snapped the moment free, Kitty pulled back away from Wisdom and reached into her jacket to retrieve her phone. "Uh... hello? I'm sorry? No, you've got the wrong number. Okay. It's okay. Goodnight." She put it in her jacket, leaning back in her seat. Her eyes shifted back to Pete, a look of apology on her face. "Sorry about that."
Pete finished off his beer. "Let's get our cab. It's getting late and we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Oh... right. Tomorrow." Kitty awkwardly smiled. "Yet another fun filled day of murder and mystery. Never a dull moment." She stood up and stretched.
"Wouldn't 'ave it any other way." Pete threw a few bills on the table for the gratuity and attempted to climb out of the booth behind her. The unsteady step after a few drinks set him offbalance as he stumbled forward.
Kitty turned and caught him as he almost knocked into her. She nudged him and helped him regain his center. "Watch out there, we almost had an awkward situation."
"Almost?" Pete raised an eyebrow.
She may have been a little buzzed, but she caught what that meant. Her expression unsure, "I think we seriously, desperately need sleep."
"Of course. Sleep'll cure anything. Let's go." Pete felt a little put off by her reaction. He straightened out his coat and headed for the door as Kitty following along behind quietly. It didn't take long for the cab to retrieve them and take them back to their hotel for the night. A subtle but nerve wracking silence between them throughout the drive home.
---
To be continued...